Planting Cover Crops In Semi-Arid Regions By Benedict T. Palen, Jr.

1. Planting Cover Crops In Semi-Arid Regions By Benedict T. Palen, Jr. Cover crops have taken a prominent role in certain parts of the country as a means for improving soil structure, and raising crop yields in no till and limited till systems. There seems to be persuasive evidence that there are benefits in certain instances.

2. Planting Cover Crops In Semi-Arid Regions By Benedict T. Palen, Jr. It is a fair question to ask whether cover crops are beneficial, and economical, in those areas of the USA where annual precipitation is less than, say, 20 inches. That covers a vast swath of the heartland of the US from Texas to the Dakotas. Much of this was traditional wheat/fallow country, but in the last 15 or so years, advances in crop varieties, and improved farming practices, have caused a massive shift to the production of summer crops, such as corn, soybeans, and sunflowers, in a rotation with wheat. In these areas, there is often a fine line between having just enough moisture to grow a fair crop, or some reserve moisture that allows for above average crops. And, speaking generally, there are vast parts of this region that have soil organic matter levels of less than 2%.

3. As with any new farming method, I believe that anyone considering cover crops in these semi-arid areas should have the following considerations when selecting a field for a test: • What are the organic matter levels and water holding capacity of the soils? • Is there a hardpan layer in the field? • What has been the crop yield history? • What has been the annual precipitation at the field, or in the area of the field, the last 5 years? • What crop yields can be expected with current soil fertility levels? • What farming practices have been used on the field the past 5 years? Arguably, one should try cover crops on a poor piece of land because the chances of a dramatic improvement in subsequent crops could be high. I suggest trying the cover crop approach on both good and poor soil areas in the same field, or in nearby fields, to get a sense of the range of improvement that might be possible with cover crops, and the cost/benefits of doing so. It is critically important to track soil moisture impacts from raising a short term cover crop, and the resulting yields from crops raised on cover crop and non cover crop land.

4. Planting Cover Crops In Semi-Arid Regions By Benedict T. Palen, Jr. With 40 years of experience in crop production, mostly in semi-arid areas of the US, I have some doubts that the soil building benefits of cover crops will offset the likely reduction in crop yields that occurs because of reduced soil moisture levels. There again, though, making broad assumptions can be risky, and there is no one size fits all approach to cover crops. It is possible that one can experience in improvement in soil water holding capacity with cover crops such that yield impacts on later crops are minimal.

5. Planting Cover Crops In Semi-Arid Regions By Benedict T. Palen, Jr. The bottom line answer is to give this a try. But know the answers to the above questions before you plunge in. And keep very careful records along the way so that a true evaluation can be done.

6. For More Information: https://e27.co/benedict-t-palen-jr/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedicttpalenjr https://readymag.com/BenedictTPalenJr/1207102/ https://www.levo.com/benedict-t-palen-jr